Modular furniture base

ABSTRACT

Furniture items are mounted on a support bar which is carried by a plurality of base assemblies each including feet and an upright leg and a bar supporting channel, the leg having fairing strips at opposite sides thereof merging with the feet and the bar supporting fitting and interlocked with the feet of the fitting to be retained in position without separate connection.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Ronald T. Furtak Chicago; Robert W. Schier, Glenview, Ill. [21] Appl. No. 814,643 [22] Filed Apr. 9, 1969 [4S] Patented Mar. 9, 1971 [73] Assignee Krueger Metal Products, Inc.

Green Bay, Wis.

[54] MODULAR FURNITURE BASE 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 248/188.1, 52/727, 297/232 [51] Int. Cl ..F16m 11/20 [50] Field ofSmrch 248/163, 165, 188.1, 188.7; 108/150, 156; 297/232, 248; 52/727, 728; 312/204; 287/189.3 (G) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,762,545 6/1930 Carpenter et a1. 248/165 2,042,848 6/1936 Horn 312/204 3,236,484 2/1966 l-lozeski et al. 248/163 3,236,485 2/1966 Staples 248/1881 3,339,503 9/1967 Flodell 248/1881 FOREIGN PATENTS 623,147 1961 Italy 52/727 691,838 8/1964 Canada 52/727 1,465,265 11/1966 France 248/1881 Primary ExaminerMarion Parsons, Jr. Attorney-Wheeler, Wheeler, House and Clemency ABSTRACT: Furniture items are mounted on a support bar which is carried by a plurality of base assemblies each including feet and an upright leg and a bar supporting channel, the leg having fairing strips at opposite sides thereof merging with the feet and the bar supporting fitting and interlocked with the feet of the fitting to be retained in position without separate connection.

MODULAR FURNITURE BASE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION In many modular furniture bases, the leg and feet and bar support are made in one piece.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The instant construction makes it possible to provide separate castings and other parts which are made of material best suited for their particular function and interlockingly connected in a manner which is simple and convenient and provides unusually strong support forthe bar upon which the furniture units are mounted. It enables generally standard parts to be used for making a base of any desired height merely by selecting leg elements of appropriate length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION The so'called modular furniture generally comprises a supporting bar upon which fittings 12 are mounted for connec tion with seats 14, these being representative of various furniture elements usually carried in spaced relation on bar 10.

As herein shown, each of the supports for the bar 10 comprises a foot casting which may include in one piece feet 22 and 24 extending in a direction from front to rear beneath the bar 10. The foot members 22 and 24 are so formed as to appear to extend upwardly at the center beneath the 10. At their apparent juncture, there is a heavy dowel member 26 extending upwardly directly beneath the bar (FIG. 3). At each side of the dowel member 26, the casting 20 is provided with a shoulder 28 on which there is an upstanding flange 30 spaced from the dowel member 26. V

Telescoped onto the dowel member 26 is the leg tube 32 which may be of any desired length. One of the advantages of the invention is to enable the height of the support to be determined at will, or modified, according to the. length of a selected tube 32. Telescoped into the tube at its upper end is another dowel member 34 which extends downwardly from a fitting 36 equipped with a channel 38 for the bar 10. The fitting 36 has a shoulder at 40 supported on the upper end of the leg tube 32 and provided at both sides of the leg tube with a flange 44. I

Bolts are sued to connect the leg tube 32 to the upper and lower dowels 34 and 26. These bolts may be inserted from the front as indicated at 46 in FIG. 3 or may be inserted from the side as indicated at 48. The lateral location is preferred for the bolts at the top of the leg in order to facilitate assembly and disassembly. The location shown at 46 is preferred for the bolts at the bottom of the leg because these bolts are concealed by the fairing member presently to be described.

The two fairing members 50 are substantially identical. The cross section of each is made to merge with the cross section of the individual feet as clearly appears in FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the fairing members 50 comprises a channel having an ornamental rib at 52 aligned with the corresponding rib 54 on the respective foot. From the sides of the channel, the flanges 56 project inwardly. The ribs or flanges 30 of the foot member 20 are engaged behind these flanges 56 of each fairing the top of the member 50 near the bottom of the leg and similar flanges 44 are interlocking en a ed with flanges'56 of members 50 near eg. en the screw 48 are in place, they are practically invisible between the front and rear fairing elements 50, and screws 46 are completely concealed.

When the screws 48 are removed, the upper dowel fitting 36 and bar supporting channel 38 as part thereof can readily be lifted from the leg tube 32 and this exposes the upper ends of the respective fairing members 50. Thereupon the upper ends 50' of these fairing members may readily be swung outwardly as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 3 to facilitate their being lifted from interlocking engagement with the foot unit 20. As soon as the front fairing member 50 is removed, the screws 46 are exposed and may be withdrawn to permit the leg tube to be lifted from dowel 26.

Reassembly is equally simple; The leg tube 32 is first telescoped onto the dowel portion 26 of the foot unit 20 and is anchored by screw 46. Thereupon the fairing elements 50 are applied by interlocking their lower ends with the flanges 30 which project upwardly from the shoulders 28 of the foot unit 20. With the lower ends of the fairing members thus anchored, they are pivoted toward the full line positions best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. With the fairing members upright, each will partially embrace the leg tube 32. I

The top unit 36 is then applied by telescoping its dowel portion 34 into the leg tube, and hooking its flanges 44 over the flanges 56 which project inwardly from the channeled fairing members 50. This holds the fairing members at their upper ends. The interlocking connection is then made permanent by application of the bolts 48.

The base is now complete and. the bar 10 or other furniture support may be mounted, as by the bar in the channel 38.

We claim:

1. A furniture base made up of interlocking sections including a foot section withdivergent feet, a top section, a leg tube telescopically engaged with dowel portions with which the foot section and top section are respectively provided, and channel-shaped fairing elements engaged with opposite sides of the said tube and having terminal interlocking connection both with the foot section, together with means for holding foot and top sections in assembly with said leg tube and'in engagement through said interlocking connection with said fair ing elements for holding said elements in position.

2 A furniture base according to claim 1 in which each of said fairingelements has sides from which flanges project inwardly, the said sections having transverse flanges engaged with the said flanges of said fairing elements to provide the interlocking connection aforesaid.

3. A furniture base according toclaim 2 in which the cross section of the respective fairing units merges with and matches the cross section of the foot section.

4. A furniture base comprising a foot casting having forwardly and rearwardly extending foot portions and provided shoulders of said foot casting, said fairing members having their sides provided with oppositely directed flanges interlockingly engaged with the flanges projecting from the respective shoulders with which the foot casting and the top casting are provided, and means for detachably connecting the top casting and the foot casting to said leg tube whereby interlocking connection of said flanges holds the fairing members in assembly.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 5,5 9 7 Dated March 9, 97

Inventor(s) Ronald T. Furtak and Robert W. Schier It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patenw and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, Line 22, "in" should be inserted after the word showing Column 1, Line 57, "sued" should read-----used Column 1, Line 64, "member" should read---members--- Column 2, Line 2, "interlocking" should read interlockingly Column 2, Line 3, "screw" should read----screws---- Column 2, Line 7, "a" should be inserted after the word as Column 2, Line 40, and the top section" should be it after the word section Column 2, Line 5H, "portion" should read----portions- Column 2, Line 58, "a" should be inserted after the W having Column 2, Line 63, "side" should read --sides----- Column 2, Line 69, "the" should be inserted after the word whereby Signed and sealed this 1 0th day of August 1 971 :(SEAL) Attest:

EDI'JARD I'LFLE'ICHERJH. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, J Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patent 

1. A furniture base made up of interlocking sections including a foot section with divergent feet, a top section, a leg tube telescopically engaged with dowel portions with which the foot section and top section are respectively provided, and channelshaped fairing elements engaged with opposite sides of the said tube and having terminal interlocking connection both with the foot section, together with means for holding foot and top sections in assembly with said leg tube and in engagement through said interlocking connection with said fairing elements for holding said elements in position.
 3. A furniture base according to claim 2 in which the cross section of the respective fairing units merges with and matches the cross section of the foot section.
 4. A furniture base comprising a foot casting having forwardly and rearwardly extending foot portions and provided between said portion with an upwardly extending dowel having a generally horizontal shoulder at each side thereof and an upstanding flange projecting from the shoulder and spaced from the dowel, a leg tube telescopically received upon the dowel, a top casting having dowel telescopically engaged within the leg tube and provided with outwardly projecting shoulders having flanges spaced from the dowel and the leg Tube, said top casting including bar supporting means, channel-shaped fairing members embracing the leg tube at opposite side thereof and registering at their lower ends with the shoulders of said foot casting, said fairing members having their sides provided with oppositely directed flanges interlockingly engaged with the flanges projecting from the respective shoulders with which the foot casting and the top casting are provided, and means for detachably connecting the top casting and the foot casting to said leg tube whereby interlocking connection of said flanges holds the fairing members in assembly. 